Tainted Blood (16 page)

“How old are you?” I asked.

“Seventeen.” This actually surprised me. Mostly because of how Felix acted about Phen, not how he looked. He could easily pass for seventeen. I just thought he was younger, not almost an adult, considering how Felix spoke of him.

We sat there quietly a while longer, a cool breeze rustling the branches overhead. “How did you know it was my birthday the other day?” I asked, breaking the silence.

“How could I not? You think I don’t know who you are?” He bumped me lightly with his shoulder. “You’re kind of a big deal where I come from.” He teasingly grinned at me.

I felt my brow scrunch as I tried to process his words. “How so?”

“You’re Laney! The girl who finally got the forever-single-workaholic Oliver to slow down
and
fall in love.”

I felt myself blush.

“He really does love you, you know?” He smiled again, but this one contained that same innocence that made him look so very sweet. “I’ve heard all about you.”

I smiled uncomfortably. I wondered how much Phen knew, and exactly what he knew. “So, tell me about these plans that are in place for you,” I said, trying to take the focus off of me.

He sighed heavily and leaned back against the tree. “It is my destiny to take my father’s place, just as it was his to take his father’s place before him.”

“You have no choice? None at all?”

He shrugged. “Well, it’s an old-school, pureblood custom that the first born male vampires are expected to assume the position of their fathers. And my father,” he dropped his voice to barely a whisper and leaned close to me, “just so happens to be the Brookehaven coven leader.”

My eyes were wide with surprise. “I, uh, wow…”

“Yeah, no pressure, right?”

“No kidding.” I heard a rustling in the distance. The overgrowth that Phen always disappeared behind moved. “I think someone’s over there,” I whispered, suddenly full of fear.

He glanced in the direction of the bushes then said, “Don’t worry about it. He’s with me.” I raised an eyebrow and he added. “It’s my ride. I’m going to have to go soon.”

As my fear passed, my thoughts began weaving together, putting things in the right order, and I realized something. “Oliver’s boss is your dad?” He nodded. “Huh,” was all I had in response.

“Huh, what?” he asked.

“So you’ll be Oliver and Felix’s boss?”

“Well, it’s going to be a really,
really
long time before I’m anybody’s anything. I’m only seventeen. I still have years of training to complete. And coming here, my ‘stunt’ as my father will call it, will probably get me grounded for the next ten years.”

“Why?”

“I’m not supposed to leave the coven grounds.”

“Then why did you?” I questioned.

He shrugged. “I’m a teenager, aren’t we supposed to rebel or something?” He gave me that same super sweet smile and I laughed at him.

“So your parents are going to be pretty ticked when they find out you left?” I asked.

“Just my dad, my mom isn’t with us anymore.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.” He slipped his sunglasses into place. “She died seventeen years ago today.” The feeling faded. The one of comfort, it was gone, leaving an emptiness in its place. “She died about an hour after she gave birth to me.”

“I am so sorry.” What else could I say?

“So am I.” He forced a half-hearted smile.

We sat there in silence for a little while and I was thankful when that empty feeling finally dissipated. A gust of wind caused leaves to rain down across the cemetery, and I watched as another gust chased dead leaves across the cemetery floor. I heard a car door slam and Phen’s head snapped toward the front gates.

“I’ve got to go!” He bounced to his feet. “I’ve enjoyed getting to know you.” He was seriously edgy, fighting the urge to run. “I hope we get to see each other again, but I don’t think it’ll be anytime soon.” He looked toward the gates once more and I stood, searching the entrance. Someone was coming. Fast.

“I’ve gotta go!” He took off, running fast across the cemetery, toward the bushes, but not fast enough.

Oliver had almost made it to where I was standing when he shouted, “You are in so much trouble! I’m calling your father!”

I giggled a little at how funny it sounded and immediately stifled my laughter. Phen disappeared behind the overgrowth and was gone without a word. Oliver’s attention turned on me. Never in my life had I wished so much to have the ability to disappear.

“What is wrong with you!” he shouted and I cringed. He closed the distance between us and grabbed my hand, tugging me back toward the gates. He made a quick phone call, and all he said was, “Phoenix was at the cemetery again.” He ended the call then turned back to me and in a very angry voice said, “Felix told you to stay away! Why didn’t you?” I didn’t get a chance to respond because he did it for me. “Oh, let me guess! You don’t know, right?” We passed through the gates and he continued to tug me toward his car. “Have you not caused me enough pain?”

I was seriously confused. Yeah, so maybe “I don’t know” was my go-to response most of the time, but how had I caused him pain? By talking to some boy, a vampire boy? Was this all jealousy? If so, it was ridiculous.

He opened the passenger door of his car and impatiently waited while I scrambled inside. He slammed the door and crossed in front of the SUV to the driver’s side. He slammed his door too and stuck the key in the ignition, but didn’t start it. With both hands gripping the steering wheel he groaned. Then he started the car and I watched my poor little Honda fade in the distance, sitting all alone in the cemetery parking lot, as we drove away.

I was actually afraid to say anything. I’d only seen Oliver this mad at me once before and that was over the whole drunken night with Carter. But this was different. He didn’t just seem mad, he seemed…disappointed. And that was far worse than if he were angry with me.

At a stop light he asked, “Why didn’t you tell me that you spoke to your father?”

“I wasn’t sure I could. He asked me not to tell anyone.” I could only assume Felix had filled him in.

“Are you serious? You thought you couldn’t tell me?” His voice was pained.

“I thought about telling you a couple of times but there wasn’t really a good time to do it.”

“You should’ve made the time.” He was obviously hurt by the fact that I hadn’t told him this information.

“I’m sorry.”

“You always are.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing, forget it.” He returned his focus to the road as the light turned green.

I crossed my arms over my chest and slouched down into the seat.

“What did he say?”

I thought about it for a moment. “Nothing, really. He just asked if I was okay. Told me it wasn’t safe for us to talk or for anyone to know we’d spoken.”

“That’s it?”

“Pretty much.” I thought about it a moment more and added, “He remembered it was my birthday.”

“I imagine he would, you are his daughter, after all.” I didn’t respond. There was no point. “Felix told you to stay away from Phen,” he said, quickly changing subjects.

I nodded. I was actually feeling a bit disappointed with myself at this point.

“Why didn’t you?”

I shrugged. I just couldn’t explain the pull I felt toward Phen.

“Laney,” he began in all seriousness. “He’s going to be in serious trouble because of this. Please stay away from him. If you do see him again, if he shows up when you’re…visiting your aunt, tell him he needs to go home. Maybe he’ll listen if it comes from you.”

“Why would he listen to me?”

It was Oliver’s turn to shrug. “I think he’s fascinated by you. I think I may have spoken to him about you a little too much. Maybe he just wanted to meet you and find out for himself what all the fuss was about.” He chuckled softly, his mood lightening.

“You talk to other vampires about me?” I found this…sweet and my own mood lifted. Oliver just seemed like he was always so focused when it came to work and his vampire life. I’d never imagined that he talked about me to the others.

“To some.” The smile he flashed me was mischievous and bashful mixed together.

I felt myself blush. It was both flattering and embarrassing to know that he was talking about me to his...I guessed they’d be his co-workers.

He reached over and took my hand, intertwining his fingers with mine. He held it there between us on the console and absently rubbed his thumb against my skin.

“I told Felix what you told me about your mom. He said that it’s highly likely it was really her.” He gave me a small smile as I felt my chest get tight. Had she really come to visit me? “He said you might want to keep that to yourself, as well.”

Of course. I could just imagine telling all of this to Kiera. She’d probably call the funny farm and have me committed.

“Have you ever been visited by any of your family?” It sounded weird out loud.

He shook his head. “My parents thought I was dead when they passed away. They wouldn’t know to look for me. Plus, they’d have no idea where to look.”

“They have to know where we are to find us?” I asked.

“I believe so.”

I thought about it for a moment then said, “It’s all so weird.” He squeezed my hand and flashed me a quick smile. “Isn’t there a way to contact—” I cut myself off; I wasn't sure what to call them. Ghosts? Spirits? I decided to go with spirits. It sounded less creepy. “Is there a way to contact spirits?” I asked.

“There is.” I could tell by his tone that he was wary of where this was going.

“Have you ever considered trying to contact your parents or your sister?” I watched as his chest expanded beneath the seatbelt. He exhaled slowly and said,
“It has crossed
my mind, but as much as I miss my family, I just don’t think it would be a healthy path to take.”

“But don’t you want your parents to know that you’re alright? That you didn’t actually die that night?”

“Laney,” he said, and the strain was obvious in his voice. “I see it differently.”

“How so? I would think it would ease them, give them peace to know that you’re okay.”

“I don’t see how letting them know that I am fine but Olivia isn’t would give them peace. I can’t imagine informing my parents that Oscar and I were unable to keep her safe would give them any rest. It’s not an option, Laney. Please let it go.”

Oh. “I’m sorry,” I said in a very small voice.

It was quiet for a while. I didn’t have to ask where we were going. I recognized the way to Julz’s house. I wondered if it was my punishment for upsetting Oliver and disobeying Felix.

I’d been lost in my thoughts for some time when Oliver finally broke the silence and said, “Tell me about your conversation with your grandparents.”

I told him all that we’d talked about and it filled the time, making it pass quickly until we pulled through the gates of Julz’s neighborhood.

Chapter
8 - Promises to a Mad Woman

Oliver parked a couple of houses down, as he usually did when the driveway was taken. Julz’s car and Isaac’s well-loved truck were both parked in the driveway. The garage door was open and Isaac threw us a quick wave from inside and then went back to working on that old blue car.

Oliver slipped his sunglasses off and set them on the dash. “I won’t be long,” he said. Then he leaned across the console and slowly pressed his cool lips against mine. I felt certain feelings begin to stir and I tried my best to suppress them. I wasn’t doing a very good job; my mind and my body were not working as one. As I forced myself to think about random things like: what Mrs. Blake might make for dinner and whether or not I’d put my blow dryer away. My hand, of its own accord, reached out and grabbed the front of Oliver’s shirt and was pulling him closer, over the console. My lips were pressed hard against his, and his hands were working their way up into my hair, pulling me closer to him. It was the tapping on the passenger side window that stopped me from jumping him in that parked car.

Reluctantly, we pulled away from one another, breathing heavily, and I caught a glimpse of hunger in Oliver’s eyes before turning my attention to our interrupter. Hayden was standing outside my door with a look of wonder on her face and I felt the burn of embarrassment slap me right on the cheeks.

Oliver drew my attention back to him and rested his forehead against mine. “I’ll be back in a few minutes. I just need to grab some things.” His voice was a little ragged.

His lips brushed mine once more and then he got of the vehicle and headed for the house. I watched and admired as his long legs strutted across the cul-de-sac. I also admired the muscles of his back as they worked just under the thin fabric of his dark T-shirt and I pictured what his chest looked like when it was bare, and how I wasn't going to be able to wait much longer to be with him.

Hayden tapped again and I took a really deep breath and exhaled slowly before I got out of the SUV.

I found Hayden sitting on the curb, just behind Oliver’s SUV, fiddling with the heart necklace that Felix had given her for her birthday. I sat beside her and we chatted for a little bit while I tried to hide my embarrassment at being caught with Oliver in such a state.
I guess it could’ve been worse
,
I told myself as I felt the burn creep up my neck once again. But I couldn’t imagine that Oliver would let things go that far somewhere so public. Then I recalled the no-sex-in-the-car conversation we’d had the last night I’d seen Lilly…alive. And with the thought of my aunt, every last lingering yearning feeling I had was extinguished.